Mind blunders

Have you heard that brain joke? The one where you place your hand on someone’s head and move it all around and when they ask, “What’s that?” You respond with “That’s a brainsucker, starving.”

Well, something has happened to my brain. I would say that I need to go get checked out by a doctor, but I am pretty sure I know the cause of it—this pregnancy. It started with the simple mistake of leaving my keys in the door and then gradually grew to unattended social events and forgotten birthdays. And if I thought that was bad, it was only the beginning.

I don’t love to cook (that’s my husband’s department) but I do try to help out by chopping vegetables or mixing ingredients. So, the other night when Brack asked me to hand him something from the dishwasher, I realized that I completely forgot to start the dishes the night before. I looked down and there were all the dirty dishes and the soap all set to go, but I the operator, just forgot to hit the “on” button. This would be okay if it was a one-time occurrence, but it happened the next two nights in a row.

Next my flightiness crossed the line to home endangerment. Being from the south, hot rollers are a staple to my beauty routine. So the next week as I was driving to work, I got that “oh no” feeling about halfway there. I had to turn all the way back around, and sure enough there they were, my rollers, still plugged in. This was followed a few days later by the fact that I turned around halfway to work again to unplug the iron. It wasn’t plugged in. I have since made a direct point to double-check all outlets before leaving the house.

If that wasn’t enough to drive any woman crazy, my brain has gotten worse. I have been craving baked potatoes and to fuel my fire, I have been in desperate need of sour cream. So after a shopping trip, where I proceeded to leave the refrigerated groceries on the counter in my kitchen, overnight, I had to go back to the store for sour cream run number two. As I put the bags on the counter, with the complete intention to put them away, I was distracted by a sweet package from a friend. Lost in cute little guy clothes for Braxton, I completely forgot about the refrigerated goods. This time, I ruined not only the new sour cream, but also our weekly supply of yogurt and a cheese ball that I bought for a girls-night party I had coming up.

Then last week, I completely forgot that I had my glucose test at the doctor. I realized this as I was eating a cream cheese Danish (my new craving!) and had to call to reschedule. I have never missed a doctor’s appointment in my entire life, truthfully. I have always been so good at writing everything down, but now I just forget to even pick up the pen.

So, tonight as I drive home from work, I will need to make another stop to pick up another cheese ball for the party. I have already texted Brack to let him know that he is now in charge of all refrigerated items. I have lost all privileges when it comes to meal preparation and for the rest of my pregnancy, I find it may be the most helpful to just stay away from all electronic items, breakable items, food items … you get the picture.

So, what happened to that girl, the one who could balance two jobs, an internship and 19 hours of class credit all while maintaining a dazzling social schedule and really fabulous hair? I couldn’t tell you. She is gone and I hope that she one day returns, though I have heard that “pregnancy brain” just simply replaces itself with “mommy brain.” So, even though my brain is costing time, money and energy, I know it’s all because my body is busy building the best little guy in the world. And that is definitely worth it.

Lots of love,

Tracy